They walked along the pier, checking out quaint little gift shops and browsing for souvenirs. “Let’s go in here.” Olivia grabbed Liam’s arm and pulled him along behind her. They walked into a handmade soap shop. The store was filled wall to wall with bins of soap and sea sponge loofas. Olivia grabbed a few bars and held them up to her nose. She made a sour face and turned to Liam.
“What do you think of this one?” she asked, holding it up to him. He took a quick sniff and shook his head. Olivia giggled, enjoying this game. She walked over to another bin and dug through the soaps, looking for a scent he might actually like.
She suddenly froze. The heat of his body pressed against her bare shoulders, and his breath brushed against the side of her neck, sending shivers of delight right into her core. He inhaled, slow and deep, as if he were savoring the most delicious scent. Was he…smelling her? Her mouth suddenly went dry. She swallowed past the lump in her throat that was probably her heart. She could feel its erratic pounding in there.
“I don’t think there’s a soap in here that can smell better than you do right now.” His words whispered against her throat, making her flesh tingle. She stood there statue still, waiting for him to come just an inch closer, wishing he would kiss her, imagining what it’d feel like to have his lips against her skin. Liam suddenly turned away, and a pang of disappointment nearly made her knees buckle.
“Take your time.” His voice was raw—husky. “I’ll meet you outside. I just need a little fresh air.”
Olivia’s throat was too tight to speak. She could use some cool air herself right about now. His closeness rattled her unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She stalled inside the shop a few extra minutes, waiting for her heart to stop racing, trying to compose herself.
She walked outside and found Liam sitting on a park bench. She approached him silently, stopping a few feet away to take in his statuesque profile. Sea gulls walked around his feet, they were so close. One of them sat on the arm rest of the bench less than a foot away from him.
He casually reached out and ran his hand over the bird’s back, murmuring something to it she couldn’t understand. It sounded like another language, but she couldn’t be sure. The gull turned its head, watching him with alert, intelligent eyes. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that bird understood exactly what he said. Olivia scolded herself for being so foolish. She stepped a little closer, and the birds flew off in an explosion, scattering in different directions.
“Are you ready?” He turned to glance over his shoulder. “You didn’t buy anything?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. I guess I didn’t find anything in there that really appealed to me. Do you mind if we walk on the beach?”
“Not at all. This is your day. We can do whatever you want.” He stood up from the bench and turned to smile at her. His warm violet eyes set off the deep burgundy flecks in his hair. He held his hand out, and she took it without hesitation. Her heart skipped a beat when their palms connected.
Liam led her down the pier. When they reached the end, he released her hand and leapt gracefully off the edge, landing on the whitewashed sand below. He turned and lifted his arms. “Come on,” he encouraged. “It’s not as far down as it looks.”
Olivia took a step closer and peered over the edge. She wasn’t so sure. It was at least a twelve-foot jump. She wasn’t fond of heights, and liked jumping off them even less. It took all her nerve to bend down and reach over the pier’s ledge to grasp his hands.
He gave her a confident smile. “Jump,” he encouraged.
“I don’t really like heights,” she said reluctantly, wishing she could let go of his hand and step away from the ledge.
“I know, but you’re safe—trust me. Just close your eyes and jump.”
She closed her eyes tight and jumped off the edge of the pier, bracing herself for the hard impact against the ground. When her feet fell softly against the sand, her eyes flew open in surprise.
“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” he teased, sliding his fingers in between hers. “Come on.”
“Wait,” Olivia said, stopping to bend down. She slipped her feet out of the sandals and grabbed them in her free hand. She took a moment to dig her beautifully manicured toes into the warm soft sand and smiled up at him. “This is my favorite part.”
They walked along the water’s edge as far as the beach would take them, the cool ocean waves lapping over her feet. She’d stop occasionally to pick up a seashell and hold it up to the sun, admiring its beautiful colors.
The salty ocean air made her senses tingle. This was truly a perfect day, and she owed it all to Liam. She stole a glance at him and couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips. He was so easy to be with.
Heat rose to her cheeks, when he glanced down and caught her staring—again, but it was difficult not to. He’s so…beautiful. He must have a flaw somewhere. No one is this perfect.
“What?” he asked, smiling down at her.
“Nothing. I just really needed this today. Thanks for inviting me.”
“You want to talk about it?”
“No, not really. I’m having a wonderful day with you, and I don’t want to ruin it by talking about my problems. I’m just going to enjoy being here with you and pretend, just for a little while, that the rest of the world doesn’t exist.”
Liam laughed. How she loved the sound of that deep, rich melody. “Fair enough,” he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m having a great time too. I really love spending time with you.”
In fact, she could think of a few other things she’d love doing with him right now. “Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him. They walked together in comfortable silence. She watched the gulls fly overheard as they moved with a rhythm and elegance that made them almost appear to be dancing in the vibrant blue sky.
“So, what do you say we grab some lunch on the pier and then go dolphin watching?” Liam’s soft baritone voice cut into her thoughts.
“Sure. That sounds great.” They turned around and walked back toward the pier. He occasionally brushed his thumb over the top of her hand. She wanted him to stop her, right here, right now, and kiss her. She couldn’t stop thinking about his lips, what they would feel like against hers. What he’d taste like…
“What are you thinking about?” Liam asked, breaking the silence.
Olivia’s mind went blank and she tripped over her feet, stumbling forward. Liam reached for her, and with blinding speed, his hand slipped around her waist, pulling her up against his chest. She let out a surprised little gasp when she looked up into a pair of dark violet eyes instead of face-planting into the sand.
“Are you all right?” His tone carried a touch of amusement.
“I’m fine, really. I guess now you know why you won’t be seeing me on Dancing with the Stars anytime soon.”
He chuckled softly. “I guess not.”
His hand pressed against the small of her back. She stood there, waiting for him to move, watching as his eyes darkened to sapphire blue—a color she was beginning to recognize very well. She’d seen it last night in the car. He wanted to kiss her. She could feel the tension building inside him.
“What are you thinking about?” Olivia echoed his own words back at him.
“Nothing I should be putting words to,” he ground out in frustration. “Come on,” he said abruptly, sliding his hand out from behind her. “Let’s go grab some lunch.” He turned away and walked toward the pier, leaving her standing there in stunned, disappointed silence.
Liam stopped a few yards away and waited for her to catch up. His eyes returned to their deep violet hue, his expression a composed mask that could no longer fool her. He wanted to kiss her, she was certain of that, but what she didn’t understand was why he refused. He cared for her, without a doubt, or he never would have put his car in front of hers last night. So why was he holding back from her?
Chapter Sixteen
“It looks like we’re the only ones her
e,” Olivia commented as they boarded the two-level touring boat. The lower level held fifteen rows of empty benches. The stairs on her right would take them up top. With any luck, the upper level would be empty as well. The idea of having the boat all to themselves seemed incredibly romantic.
Olivia glanced back at Liam before starting up the stairs. Her hand grasped the railing, her foot balancing on the first step. She saw him handing the captain a stack of tickets and suddenly understood why the boat was vacant.
“I think you’re going to love the view up here,” Liam said, walking up behind her. His hand rested on the rail just below hers. His fingertips brushed against the sensitive part of her wrist. She was reluctant to climb the steps, in no hurry to move away from the heat of his body as he hovered behind her. She only needed to lean back a mere few inches and her backside would be pressed against his thigh.
“I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful.”
“Well, you’re never going to find out if you don’t walk up the stairs,” he teased.
Olivia put one foot in front of the other and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the ocean when they reached the upper deck. “Oh, Liam! It’s amazing up here!” She rushed to the back of the boat to peer over the railing into the clear blue water below. Small whitecaps peaked the waves. Frothy foam sat on the water’s surface where it washed against the hull. The captain’s voice crackled across the loudspeaker, announcing their departure from the harbor.
“Do you think we’ll see any dolphins today?” she called over her shoulder, unable to contain her excitement. “I’m embarrassed to say, I lived in Florida my whole life and I’ve never been dolphin watching before.”
“I’m sure of it.” Liam walked up beside her and casually slid his arm around her low back. “Careful,” he cautioned. “If you lean any farther over that railing, we’re going to be swimming.”
Olivia turned around to look at him. “You’d dive in after me, wouldn’t you?” She already knew the answer in her heart before he spoke.
“Of course I would. There isn’t anywhere I wouldn’t go, or anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.” The intensity of his eyes and total honesty in his voice caught her off guard. Why did it always seem like his words carried a deeper meaning that went far beyond what he actually said?
Olivia leaned into him, the whole right side of her body pressed into his. His muscular arm crossed her back, and his hand rested against her hip. She couldn’t remember ever feeling as safe and protected as she did at this very moment.
Unfortunately, that treasured feeling was short-lived. Liam’s body suddenly tensed. He spun around so fast she barely saw him move. Olivia turned around to find him standing in front of her, partially obscuring her view of the stairwell. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but the words caught in her throat.
Three men in varying levels of poor hygiene rounded the stairs of the upper deck. Fear prickled her skin like a thousand needles. She and Liam had been the only two people who boarded this boat, and they were at least a mile off the coast. There was no way anyone with good intentions would be here right now.
Olivia’s heart began to pound in her chest, a sense of impending doom washing over her. She reached out and grabbed Liam’s hand. He didn’t turn to look at her, to give her that reassuring smile she so desperately needed right now. Instead, he kept his full attention on the three approaching men. He gently squeezed her hand. Was that meant to reassure her?—because the tension radiating off of him was anything but comforting. Olivia glanced down at his hand. She was gripping it so tightly, her nails dug into his palm. He didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care, either way keeping his eyes locked on the man now approaching them.
He was big. Not as big as Liam, then again few men were. He stood a few inches shorter, which still put him easily over 6’2.” He was muscular built, sleeved in tattoos depicting violent, horrific acts. He wore an old, filthy wife-beater and black faded jeans. A long cluster of scraggly black hairs hung from his pointy chin, and his shaved head revealed a skull cap of tribal markings that ran down the back of his neck. The stranger’s dark eyes roamed over her, making her flesh crawl.
The two men, who stood a few feet back on either side of their leader, looked equally menacing. Dressed similar, the lanky one on the left had long dirty black hair. He wore a ring through his septum and several studs through his eyebrow. Similar tattoos ran down his neck, signifying they were somehow connected. The one on the right was slightly heavier built. His ashen blonde hair was cut short in a wild, disheveled look. A long jagged scar ran down his face, starting at the corner of his right eye and disappearing into his goatee.
A slight breeze blew, and the strong acidic scent of smoke and sulfur assaulted her nose. She immediately thought of Max, but he never smelled quite this bad. The captain’s voice continued to carry on in the background, oblivious to the trouble that was brewing aboard his Summer Breeze.
The man in the tattoos said something to Liam in a language she couldn’t understand. His deep and scratchy voice sent goose bumps crawling up her flash. He kept looking from her to Liam as he spoke, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was talking about her.
“Do not assault my ears with that offensive tongue. If you have something to say to me, you can say it in my Father’s language, or have you forgotten how to speak it?” Liam snapped.
Olivia stared at Liam in wide-eyed shock. He didn’t seem the least bit afraid of these three, or bothered by the fact that he was clearly outnumbered. The tone of his voice was one she’d never heard before: full of authority and contempt.
This time when the man spoke, the language was different—beautiful. It carried almost a musical brogue, and Liam answered him in the same dialect. She wished she could understand what they were saying, or knew what language they were speaking.
Liam finished his sentence in English, “…it’s inconsequential, Rowen. You do know she can see you.”
Holy shit! He knows them!
“So the rumors are true?” Rowen replied in English, his black eyes boring into her soul. “The girl does have the sight.”
He watched her with a mixture of intrigue and mild amusement. A wicked grin spread across his face, filling her with disgust. A wave of nausea washed over her and she involuntarily shivered, resisting the urge to take another step behind Liam. Olivia stood her ground, something telling her these men would only thrive on her fear.
“Don’t pretend this is news to you. I know why you’re here, Rowen, and if you continue with those thoughts you’re having, I’m going to kill you right where you stand,” Liam promised with a low, menacing growl.
She looked up at Liam. The amethyst glare in his eyes confirmed his deadly intention. The wicked sneer fell from the face of the one called Rowen. His black, hateful eyes locked on Liam. “You really think you’ll be able to save her, don’t you?” he asked incredulously. “How many of us do you think you’ll be able to stop?”
“As many as it takes,” Liam growled.
Holy shit! They were here for her? And Liam didn’t seem the least bit surprised by this news. What could they possibly want with her? What did he say about her sight? Of course she could see them. They were standing right in front of her! She wasn’t blind!
“I’m actually surprised you’re here,” Liam sneered. “I thought you valued your miserable existence more than this. You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I’m going to let you near her.”
Liam looked absolutely terrifying! The ominous energy that hovered in the air around him was almost enough to make Olivia want to take a step back. The preternatural look in his eyes was undeniably lethal. Oddly, at the same time, she didn’t think she’d ever seen him look more breathtaking.
The two men standing behind Rowen must have felt the energy too, because they were beginning to look less confident by the second, especially the one on the right—the one with the scar on his face. Liam leveled his amethyst glare at him and he took a
nother weary step back. “You survived your last encounter with me, Cale, and walked away with that scratch on your face. Don’t think you’ll be so lucky this time.”
Cale glanced around anxiously, maybe looking for an escape, she couldn’t tell for sure. Before Liam could speak again, a sudden breeze picked up from the opposite direction. The three men looked in the air above her, their faces filled with fear. She turned around, wondering what they saw to cause such an abrupt change in their countenance, but the only thing behind her was clear blue sky and a few gulls circling overhead.
“Come on,” Liam drawled. “Did you really didn’t think a legion wouldn’t be sent? I’d rather not do this in front of the girl. But I will, if you force my hand. My patience is growing short, so I’ll give you this one chance to walk away, Rowen. Leave now and tell your court that any other attempts on Olivia’s life will not end this peacefully. I will not be this forgiving again!”
“This isn’t over!” Rowen growled. “You can’t be with the girl every minute of every day.”
“Then the next time you approach her, be prepared to die!” Liam snarled.
Olivia watched in wide-eyed terror as the three figures disappeared before her eyes into various shades of black and gray mist. As the mist turned left and disappeared over the railing, the wind at her back ceased. Olivia gasped. She yanked her hand out of Liam’s and stumbled back until the cold, steel railing dug into her back, halting her retreat. She stood there clinging to the bars, panic climbing up her throat, threatening to choke her.
Liam turned toward her. She stared past him, unblinking at the space where three. Things stood just one minute ago. Whatever they were, they were not human! Her breath came in quick, rapid bursts. She suddenly felt dizzy. If not for her tight grip on the railing, she would have collapsed to the floor.
“Olivia?” Liam reached his hand out toward her, but thankfully he didn’t dare take a step toward her. She stared at him, feeling like she was looking into the eyes of a stranger—fear and confusion threatened to overwhelm her.
The Redemption Series Page 13